The US-based TIME magazine in its latest issue published today called BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman the “clear front runner” in the upcoming February 12 elections as it carried an analysis ahead of the polls.

“Rahman is the clear front runner in Feb. 12 elections, which were called after Hasina’s ouster in a student-led popular uprising 18 months ago,” read the article which was partly based on his interview of him.

He said Rahman was positioning himself as a “bridge between a political aristocracy that dates back to Bangladesh’s liberation struggle and the aspirations of its young revolutionaries”.

The TIME magazine wrote it was also tinged with irony since, as Bangladesh’s de facto opposition leader, Rahman’s speeches had been banned from local media for a decade by autocratic ousted  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The TIME interviewer spoke to Rahman at the garden of his family home, “resplendent with bougainvillea and marigolds” when the new BNP chairman gave his first interview since returning home after 17 years in exile.

“The thing is that I’m not very good at talking anyway . . . but if you ask me to do something, I try my best,” Rahman told the magazine.

The TIME wrote to his supporters, Rahman was a “persecuted redeemer returning to save his beleaguered homeland” while he “insists he’s the right person to heal his riven nation”.

“It’s not because I’m the son of my father and mother (rather) my party supporters are the reason why I’m here today,” he said.

The magazine said it had been a whirlwind few weeks for Rahman, who arrived in Bangladesh on Dec. 25, last year when he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of rapturous supporters who had waited throughout the night at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The analysis noted that just five days later his mother Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia passed away following a long illness, drawing even larger numbers to throng the sprawling capital to pay their respects.

Rahman described the situation in welling eyes that it was “very heavy in my heart”.

“But the lesson I learned from her is that when you have a responsibility, you must perform it,” he said.

TIME, however, observed that responsibility might be nothing less than following in her footsteps and commented “Bangladeshis appear willing to take him at his word”.

The magazine noted that opinion polls from late December showed support for his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) at around 70 percent with its nearest challenger Jamaat-e-Islami, at 19 percent.

TIME wrote Rahman appeared “soft-spoken and introverted, preferring to listen rather than hold court” while his favorite pastime in London was strolling around leafy Richmond Park, “lost in his thoughts, or reading history books”.

“His favorite film is Air Force One. ‘I’ve probably seen it eight times!’, he revealed to the magazine.

According to TIME, Rahman came across as a “policy wonk” who can summon facts and figures on any issue.

He wants to dig 12,000 miles of canals to help replenish a depleted water table, plant 50 million trees a year to combat land degradation, and seed 50 new green spaces in Dhaka to help the smog-wreathed capital breathe.

Rahman told the magazine he planned to install trash-burning power generators, repurpose technical colleges to upskill migrant workers, and partner with private hospitals to alleviate an overwhelmed state health care system.

“If I can implement just 30% of what I have planned, I’m sure the people of Bangladesh will support me,” he said.

During Bangladesh’s 2007–2008 military-backed caretaker government, Rahman was imprisoned for 18 months.

He suffered torture in prison that caused spinal problems that still blight him today, and his departure to the U.K. was originally to seek medical treatment. “If the winter is very cold, then I get back pain,” he says.

Tarique Takes Campaign Northward

BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman is set to begin his election campaign in the country’s northern region, following rallies in the Sylhet, Chattogram and Mymensingh divisions.

BNP Media Cell member Shairul Kabir Khan said Tarique will travel to Rajshahi on Thursday afternoon, marking the start of a three-day tour.

He is scheduled to address an election rally at Rajshahi Madrasa ground at 2pm.

He will then speak at rallies at ATM field in Naogaon at 5:30pm and at Altafunnessa playground in Bogura at 7:30pm, seeking votes for the BNP’s Sheaf of Paddy symbol.

During the Bogura visit, Tarique is also expected to go to his ancestral home at Ziabari in Gabtali Upazila, marking his first visit to the district in 19 years.

On Friday, he will travel to Rangpur. At 3:45pm, he is scheduled to pay respects at the grave of Abu Sayed in Pirganj, followed by a public rally at Rangpur Eidgah ground around 4:30pm.

On Saturday, the BNP chairperson will address election rallies at 2pm at the BSCIC Industrial Park and at 4pm near the Dhaka-Tangail Highway.

During the tour, Tarique will stay at a four-star hotel in Bogura on Thursday and Friday.

Tarique began his election campaign in Sylhet on Jan 22, followed by rallies in Chattogram on Jan 25 and in Mymensingh on Jan 27, before returning to Dhaka by road.

So far, the BNP chairperson has addressed 16 election rallies.

Due to large turnouts, his arrival at each event was delayed by three to five hours, with party activists waiting until late at night.